Thursday, January 27, 2011

I keep a low-profile online. Weird, right? I have a blog and, yet, I don't like putting identifying details about myself out there. Until I went to Food Blog Camp, I did not post my name or my picture on AoaAF. I didn't spend time with other bloggers.

At camp, Jaden encouraged us to think of other bloggers as co-workers. Elise encouraged us to play nicely in the sandbox. Matt and David encouraged us to watch each other's backs.

I took these lessons home and realized that I should spend more time with other bloggers. When Darlene invited me to Bacon Bingo at El Take It Easy, I jumped at the chance to hang out with her, Leanne, and Mary. I "talk" with them often via Twitter. The four of us have covered food, shopping, sci-fi, and weddings. Mary was one of my biggest supporters during the Iron Foodie recipe contest. When I receive some ridiculous discount code to Banana Republic, Darlene and Leanne are the first people I run to. Mary also brought Jake, making him the only significant other brave enough to hang out with us.

We met at El Take it Easy, with Jay emceeing the festivities. He teased us about cheating, since Darlene and Leanne won the first two rounds. Handmade bacon from a humanely and sustainably raised pig. Your arteries will pay, but your conscience? Not so much.

Chips with peanuts, bits of pork belly, and drizzled with hot sauce. Delicious and went fabulously with my Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale.

Photography note: Low light + aperture at 1.4f leads to some interesting depth-of-field shots. Sometimes it works and sometimes I really should dial up that f-stop. Like this shot below... not the best use of a wide aperture, but I wanted to post a photo of that lovely cazuela.

If you eat in San Diego and care about where your food comes from, then Jay's your man. His restaurants have been on the forefront of San Diego's sustainable eating movement. I especially enjoyed tonight's meal, a cazuela of green mole, delicious hard-boiled eggs, and served with handmade tortillas. Next time, I'm going to ask if I can have those hard-boiled eggs with the red mole. The staff was amazing and attentive and the bingo was delightful, even though I didn't even come close to winning.

I like your photos! I haven't looked at mine yet. They sit on my camera, unloved. I haven't spent a lot of time with other bloggers, either, but it was really nice hanging out with people who also know all about it!

I want to go to Bacon Bingo. That sounds so fun. I also want to hang out with you more. I've been thinking a lot about you because I'm now addicted to Crazy Birds. You're the one who told me about it so now it's on my ipod touch and I make Enzo play it every afternoon with me even though he wants to do math drills. I'm a horrible mother.

I think bloggers that live in big cities end up being so lucky when they discover others who live near them. I would fall over with surprise if there was another food blogger within 75-100 miles of me. That's how remote my town is. I guess that's why the blogging community is so much fun.

It's only been a recent thing that I've started to meet up with fellow bloggers, but it really is fun (if a little weird at first) to interact with them in person, because it really is rewarding to connect with people who share similar interests both online and off. Bacon Bingo looks like SO much fun!

It's only been a recent thing that I've started to meet up with fellow bloggers, but it really is fun (if a little weird at first) to interact with them in person, because it really is rewarding to connect with people who share similar interests both online and off. Bacon Bingo looks like SO much fun!

I like your photos! I haven't looked at mine yet. They sit on my camera, unloved. I haven't spent a lot of time with other bloggers, either, but it was really nice hanging out with people who also know all about it!